Balloon Art Mel

Hoffmal Lanes' resident Balloon Artist, Rick, helped Melvis out with some props for his show.



Here Mel sports his much needed guitar. No longer 'air guitar', unless you count what's in the balloons.



Here's a likeness of Mel had he been born as a balloon.



I 'heart' Karaoke. Yes, we all know. It should read "I Love this shit".

the Melvis Interview Pt. 1

Melvis recently relaxed from his press-wary stance and agreed to a brief but insightful interview on Wednesday, Feb. 23. After a long evening of entertaining, Mel went on the record for the first time in years. I will be publishing clips of this interview in a few installments, and here we go with the first one.

Melvis Interview 2/23/05 Pt. 1 614 KB


In this segment, Melvis discusses:

- Karaoke Contests
- The Melvis Fan Club
- American Idol and William Hung
- Royalties Negotiation with the P and VP of the Fan Club

Enjoy and don't forget to leave feedback!

This-N-That, Feb 05

Hey everyone, it's your Mel Presidente, Regis, here with your monthly update. February has been a landmark month for the Melvis Fanclub. We've finally found a home on the net and have been amassing photos, video, and sound clips wonderfully. Of course we all owe this to the Melvis for being in top form this month.

New Songs?
I had time to talk with melvis between sets recently and he mentioned he will be trying new material weekly. When I voiced concern that this would take attention away from his 'standards', he replied "fuck it." How can you argue with that.

Open membership
In a unanimous vote, the board decided that there are no 'general members' in the Melvis Fan Club. Therefore, everyone who joins must have a title. From "caterer" to "stunt coordinator", every Melvisfan will have a special duty in the fanclub. We felt this keeps everyone on even ground.

New Sponsorship?
It's true. The Melvis Fan Club will be sponsoring a new podcast starting in march. We feel this is an important expenditure in our budget for all the exposure it will generate. The exact nature of the podcast is being kept under lock and key, but I can tell you that while it will not focus exclusively on the Melvis, there will be regular segments dedicated to him. Look for more info at the top of the month.

Thanks for reading, and remember to get out there and support the Melvis!

Regis
Mel Presidente
the Melvis Fan Club

Hotel California Commentary

As an illustration of the professionalism of Melvis, I am posting a brief mp3 of Saturday's performance of "Hotel California". Mel tackes this new song (even though he sang it before) with a vigor unlike any other. Despite being a live board feed, it's still a little fuzzy, so I included a transcript of his commentary.

Melvis Hotel California Commentary mp3 701 KB

[Mel checks the mic]
"Test 1, 2. I'm on."

[Mel sees 'Hotel California' come up on the screen]
"What the hell? What the fuck is this? ... I'll sing it. I'll sing it. I normally don't sing it, but I'll sing it."

[Mel asks Gary a question]
"Jerry, how did I get this song? How'd I get this song?"

[Mel forgets he sang this song 3 days ago on Wednesday]
"Never sang it, but I'll try it, though."

[Mel explains himself]
"I can sing just about any fuckin' song there is, I'll tell ya. Here we go!"

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. A true professional at work!

Sing Along With Melvis

I have an exciting announcement I can finally share with the membership (legal reasons). A video company has been working with Mel to put together a sort of "Sing Along With Melvis" video. I don't know if this is specifically geared toward children or if it will be 'fun for all ages'. From extensive phone conversations with the producers, here's what I know:

the video will be approx. 60 minutes in length.
all video will be of Melvis live in performance
karaoke-type words will follow along each song
(speculation) some rare outtakes and brief interview clips
Laserdisc and BETA format only

To get the promotional ball rolling, the video agency also sent me a brief clip of what the video will look like. The quality isn't that great, but remember they've just begun post-production. This is the last half-minute of "My Way". I think they sent me this clip because the content is such a closely guarded secret, but "My Way" is such an obvious inclusion they didn't feel they'd be spoiling any surprises.

Here it is. Enjoy!

Sing Along With Melvis wmv clip 845 KB

Vocal Coaching

We can officially add 'philanthropist' to Mel's lexicon of descriptors. He has been working with many youth, one pictured here, acting as a sort of mentor.



Really he's doing mostly vocal coaching, but also giving lessons in showmanship, stage presence, and working a crowd. I was observing him work his magic with this young woman in a real life situation.



We can see from the photos that he's leading her in his footsteps. After the coaching session I sat down with the young lady and spoke to her. She said she hopes to audition for American Idol next year and is getting professional help wherever she can get it. I know it takes a lot of work, but I admire both their dedication working so hard before this year's season is really underway!

The best part? Melvis is doing it all for free. You can't beat a guy like Mel, except with a large stick.

Melvis Video

During my regular webcrawl for Melvis items, I found this little gem. There appear so be some bootleg Melvis wmv's surfacing on the internet. They are very low quality, but how can you water down the genius of Melvis?

This is a very recent clip of Mel's show closer/showstopper "My Way", which in many people's opinions is better than Sinatra's. Viewers of this video are encouraged to decide for themselves.

Melvis "My Way" wmv 860 KB

Let's get some comments generated about this. Do we see a MElvis DVD in the not too distant future?

Atom Site Feed

Those fans who use atop should be able to get updates by clicking the appropriate link on the right side of this page. Please let me know if there are any technical problems with the link.

-Reege

Over the Top

The audacity. The contempt. The sheer bravado.

Such were my thoughts as a slightly juiced Melvis challenged Frankie V to an arm wrestling tournament well after bar hours this past Wednesday. The fact that FJV has 30+ years on Mel notwithstanding, I thought this might actually be a good match-up. Boy, was I wrong.



Not only did Mel slam FJV's knuckels on the table a whopping 7 times, he did so without conceding one victory to his younger challenger. 7 victories in a row. Just before the last victory, Mel swiveled his hat around, looked FJV directly in the eye, and laughed. And a damn sinister laugh at that.

I know that the disclaimer says he's cute and cuddly, but know this today my friends: when it all comes down to it, for your own safety, don't fuck with the Melvis.

Leaving Comments

This home of the Melvis Fan Club is intended to be an interactive forum for all people interested in the Melvis. This weblog has a 'comment' feature for anyone to leave a comment about a particular post we make.

To make your voice heard, click on the comments link at the bottom-right of any post. This will take you to a new screen where you can read comments from others or make a comment of your own. You can post as a fan club member or anonymously.

I hope many of you will use this great feature to help make this the premier Melvis Fan Club in the Chicagoland area! As an example, I left a comment at our very first post!

EDIT: If leaving a comment, you can remain anonymous, but if you click the 'other' option, you can leave your name or your preferred alias. This might help our conversations on this site. Thanks and happy commenting!

-Regis

Commercial: "The Best of Melvis"

Melvis has finally hit the radio with a great collection of CDs entitled "The Best of Melvis". According to the liner notes of this collection Mel went into the recording studio January of '05 and threw down a bunch of tracks in no time flat. I know I've heard of some performers taking months, even an entire year to record a CD! But Melvis was able to put together an 8 CD collection in about a month! We should start calling him "One Take Melvis" (because once is about all I can take).

Apparently Frankie V is direct-selling this collection through his regular Karaoke shows, so you need to ask him for information. I know I've heard him play the radio spot during the shows as well as hearing them on XM Satellite Radio. (Can we even hope for an all Melvis station!?!) I don't know specifics as to how much the collection costs (I got my copy coplimentary as the President of the Fan Club). Maybe I can negotiate a deal where fan club members can purchase this collection for a discounted price. No guarantees on that, though.

Needless to say, this is a 5-star CD compilation that, as the commercial states, "no CD collection would be complete without." Be sure to pick up yours today!

--EDIT--
Late breaking news! I was able to rip an mp3 of the "Best of Melvis" commercial. I am posting it here, free of charge, for those people who have not yet picked up the collection. I know it's not much, but now you can take a little piece of Melvis' golden voice with you on your iPod!

Click the link below to listen or right-click (Ctrl-click Mac) and save this puppy to your hard drive immediately!

"The Best of Melvis" commercial 1.7 MB mp3.

Enjoy this everyone!

Melvis: The PSA

I need to do more research as to the time and circumstances that the Melvis Public Service Announcement was written, but we do know the source. Frankie V. composed this lovely verse to increase Mel's popularity even more. I mean, think about it: no one gets more airtime than Melvis!

Melvis is much like a stray dog:

He'cute;

He's cuddly;

He's friendly;

He won't bite.

However--Like a stray dog...

If you pet him

He won't leave your side.

If you continue to pet him

He will be humping your leg

By the end of the night.

So... Ladies especially:

Please do not feed the Melvis.

This poem is now verbatim what Frankie V recites at least once a night right before Melvis sings. It really gets the crowd excited about Mel's spectacular performances. I know it does for me! Thanks Frankie for the corrections.

No Relation?

I know that sometimes when I'm on the microphone I've been known to make the assertion that "Melvis is my father", even though in true life this is not the case. But, since I go by the name Regis when I sing I thought it might be interesting to our members to see a side-by-side comparison of The Melvis and The Man, Regis Philbin.



As you can see, there really isn't much differece. The hair color is a little off, and Mel prefers those dark, mysterious glasses, but the poses are almost identical.

Also, if you analyze the personalities, it's a match. Both are outspoken...incredible singers, and ohhh do they have a way with the ladies.

Regis and Melvis: Separated at Birth? I think so.

A Personal Wish

While sifting through the extensive photojournalistic files I have on the Melvis, I found one of him relaxing in his favorite boa after an intense set. I feel this pic captures the hard work, the artistry, and the sheer passion of the man as he catches his breath. I don't recall the exact date it was taken, possibly Winter 2003, but I miss the Vegas nights where Melvis would come in costme and give a special performance, filled with beautiful music and sentimental moments. I can only hope he will bring these special times back someday...

-Regis

Getting the Girls

I'd like to report an unfortunate event, and my unfortunate, I mean unfortunate for "Creamy Steve". It appears that while Creamy is working hard onstage selling it to the crowd, Mel is sneaking in on his woman. Pictured here we can see Melvis was so bold as to put the moves on Monica mere feet away from Creamy!



Later, the two could be seen dancing cheek-to-cheek and thigh-to-thigh (?) on the dance floor.



And I think Creamy's face captures the utter shock and disappointment right here:



Well, Creamy Steve, if you're going to be out-manned, you might as well be out-manned by the best: the Melvis.

Hip Hop Melvis

It appears "the Melvis" has finally joined a hip-hop trio in an attempt to score more of the bling. I think it's great to see him taking his art in new directions. He's such an extremely versatile artist, I can only see success in his future with these musical fusions. We need to get recordings!

the Melvis Fan Club on the Web!

This weblog is dedicated to the man, the myth, the legend: the Melvis.

Some future posts include:

Melvis-the History
Melvis-the PSA
Melvis-the Recording artist
Melvis-the Game

stay tuned!